It is known to build insulated concrete wall structures by using a plurality of modules stacked together to provide a concrete form which can subsequentially be filled with cementatious material and thereby provide a unitary concrete wall structure. The patent to DeLozier 4,223,501 (assigned to applicant) teaches the use of such a module for the fabrication of a concrete monolithic wall structure having foam insulation permanently attached to the structure and forming the inner and outer wall surfaces. The main advantages of this method of building is that the concrete forms remain in place as a useful component of the wall structure. Reference is made to the DeLozier patent and to the an cited therein for further background of this invention.
When a plurality of the prior art modules are assembled into a concrete building form, the sides of the module often are of inadequate strength to provide the necessary support required to contain the wet cement until it can "set" and thereby become a self supporting monolithic concrete wall of an enclosure. Lateral movement of the module walls results in an unsightly and unacceptable wall surface, accordingly, it is absolutely necessary that something be done to increase the wall strength to where there is no doubt that the module walls will resist lateral movement occasioned by the hydrostatic head of the wet concrete. Consequently, it is common practice to augment the strength of the prior an modules by the employment of extraneous timbers assembled into a lattice work and tied against the module walls to help contain the wet cement until it can "set".
For this and other reasons, many skilled in the art prefer the old technique of building concrete forms made of 2.times.4 timbers and plywood tied together in a manner to provide a structure that adequately resists the hydrostatic pressure of the concrete, rather than utilize the more modem and cost effective foam plastic module.
The present invention provides improvements in foam plastic modules for use in building construction that overcomes the above disadvantages of lateral movement of the module walls and eliminates the need for the extraneous timbers. This is achieved by the provision of a special tension member imbedded within the foam plastic in a manner that secures the opposed wall structure together and thereby resists lateral movement thereof. After the wet concrete has set, the tension members provide a support for subsequent attachment of paneling and other decorative material that may be employed on the inner and outer wall surfaces of the structure.
Another advantage of the present invention is improvements realized in the configuration of the novel tension member that arranges the outer flange members thereof in equally spaced relationship along the length of the module so that the application of commercially available paneling is more easily achieved. A further advantage of the present invention is the improved resistance to misalignment of the novel tension member respective to the remaining structure of the module during the molding process of the module. An improved module having the above attributes is the subject of this invention.